Whoever put the 2003-04 basketball schedule together couldn’t have given the Scotland County girls a better match-up for February 24. Less than a week before the start of district play, the Lady Tigers got a chance to face their top opposition for another berth in the state playoffs.

SCR-I the top seed in the District 5 Tourney, hosted the second-seeded Canton squad in Memphis. Despite beating Canton by three points earlier in the year, SCR-I was coming off a loss to the #3 team in the district, Schuyler County, so the fans did not know what to expect.

What they got was a resounding vote of confidence for the Lady Tigers who bested Canton 61-42 in a lopsided affair.

“Canton is one of the best teams in the district, so to beat them by 19 was quite a momentum booster,” said Coach Kelli Swearingen. “We only beat them by three-points the first time, so to come out and play like this was important. I’d have to say we played our best game of the year.”

Scotland County built a 14-10 advantage in the first period. The trend continued for the Lady Tigers as they outscored the opposition in all four periods. The lead expanded to 30-21 at halftime. The margin swelled to double digits at 43-30 to close the third period before SCR-I ended the contest on an 18-12 run to win 61-42.

The Lady Tigers benefited from a balanced scoring attack. Ali Fromm topped the score book with 16 points. Fellow sophomores Brittney Courtright and Ashlee Frederick both were in double digits, scoring 15 and 11 respectively. Nine of the 12 Lady Tigers that saw action in the game made it into the scoring column.